


Puzzle Pieces

by childoflightning



Series: just keep stumbling forward (baby im waiting for you) [17]
Category: Sanders Sides (Web Series)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Human, Autistic Logic | Logan Sanders, Caring Logic | Logan Sanders, Disabled Patton, Established Relationship, Fluff, Happier Than it Seems, Happy Ending, Healthy Relationships, Hurt/Comfort, Light Angst, Logan Comes Home, Logan Deserves Happiness, Logan Deserves Love, Logic | Logan Sanders Has Feelings, Logic | Logan Sanders Needs a Hug, M/M, Muslim Roman, Other, Overstimulation, Patton has Chronic Pain, Slice of Life, Taking Space, shutdown, trauma response
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-09
Updated: 2019-06-09
Packaged: 2020-04-23 16:35:47
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,965
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19154863
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/childoflightning/pseuds/childoflightning
Summary: “I love you,” Roman mumbled one night as he curled closer into Logan’s side. Logan, who was previously relaxed, stiffened at the statement.“Lo?” Roman asked, voice heavy with sleep. It's not like this was the first time any of them had said ‘I love you.’ No, that had happened a while ago now. But then, why did Logan feel so uncomfortable.“Why?” Logan eventually asked.-Or Logan comes to a realization but needs some time to figure it out.





	Puzzle Pieces

**Author's Note:**

> Here it is.
> 
> IMPORTANT: I now have a tumblr. Come and chat about the series and be notified about updates!  
> TUMBLR: https://thechildoflightning.tumblr.com/  
> UPDATES: https://thechildoflightning.tumblr.com/tagged/childoflightningao3update
> 
> TW: Running Away (brief), Mentions of Trauma, Spiraling Thoughts, Projecting, Mentions of Kidnapping  
> In-Depth TW in End Notes

“I love you,” Roman mumbled one night as he curled closer into Logan’s side. Logan, who was previously relaxed, stiffened at the statement.

“Lo?” Roman asked, voice heavy with sleep. It's not like this was the first time any of them had said ‘I love you.’ No, that had happened a while ago now. But then, why did Logan feel so uncomfortable.

“Why?” Logan eventually asked.

Roman cracked open his eyes to look at Logan. Logan himself glanced away to avoid eye contact. He stared at a mole on Roman’s cheek instead.

“Lo, you don't have to make eye contact, but I need to know you're listening, okay?”

Logan nodded.

“I'm listening,” he promised, eyes still on the mole.

“Okay,” Roman replied with a small smile? No it wasn't a smile. It was a frown? But no. It was both but neither at the same time. Logan scratched at the bedsheet. He didn’t like not knowing what his boyfriends were thinking.

“Logan, I love you because you are always there for me. You brighten my day with your dedication to caring for us and wanting the best for us. You're my rock. You're strong and you help lead us. And when you struggle you freely admit it, setting a good example for the rest of us when we need help. Logan you are the most grounded person I have ever met. I love that you make us dinner. I love that you get excited about Disney movies with me. I love that you take time for yourself and you spend tons of time with us. I love every little thing about you,” Roman professed.

Logan shifted his gaze to stare right above Roman’s eyes. Roman smiled, yup definitely a smile this time, at him. Logan, quick as possible, clamored out of bed and went to their closet.

“Lo?” Roman asked with a sleepy yawn.

Logan said nothing and continued to search through the closet.

“What are you doing?”

“I have to go,” was Logan’s only explanation.

“What?” Roman asked.

But Logan didn't bother with a response. He grabbed the quick bag he had put together before darting out of the bedroom. He then quickly grabbed his work bag, phone, and keys before darting out of the house. He got in his car and drove away.

He needed to think.

* * *

“What do you mean he just left?” Patton said in a hushed whisper as soon as Roman had finished.

“I don’t know,” Roman bit back. His hands formed fists, “He just left.”

“But why?”

“I don’t know Pat!” Romano bit angrily back.

“Okay, okay,” Patton placated with a weary huff, “Explain?”

Roman shrugged but nodded.

“Like I said, I told him I loved him, he asked why, I explained, he ran away. Once I had actually processed what he was doing I got up to follow him but he was already gone. I tried texting and calling him but he hasn’t answered. He packed a bag and took the car. And he took his work bag.”

“Did he take his headphones?” Patton fretted.

If Logan took his headphones it was a clear indicator that he was overwhelmed, which with the situation at hand, was probably the most likely scenario.

Roman’s face lit up and he quickly left the room, Patton on his heels.

They ended up in the main area of the house and set to searching all the familiar spots Logan would leave his headphones. When they weren’t found, they looked in the less likely spots. Still no headphones. Eventually, the two admitted defeat and flopped onto the couch.

“He’s gone,” Patton said.

“But for how long?” Roman asked, “Like, he’s not leaving us, right?”

“No, no,” Patton assured Roman, “He loves us. And even if he was leaving us he would tell us. But still- he wouldn’t. He probably just couldn’t handle the situation and needed some space.”

“You’re right,” Roman admitted with a sigh, “I’m just worried. It’s the middle of the night. Plus if he needs space he usually tells us, not just ups and runs away.”

The silence of the room weighed on them.

“What do we tell Virgil?” Roman inquired, “I didn’t wake him, because I didn’t want to cause him to panic over nothing, but we also can’t keep him from this.”

Patton faltered for words.

“I think we should wake him up,” he advised.

Roman raised his eyebrows and stared at Patton.

“It’s just, we can’t keep him out of the loop,” Patton protested.

“Yeah, but he’s going to worry. And you know how much sleep he already loses,” Roman cationed.

“Yes, but we’re all equals in this relationship. And three out of four of us know what happened. He may not sleep well, but that’s on him to manage with our support. Leaving him out breaks the trust between us. It’s not fair to Virgil,” Patton stressed.

“You’re right,” Roman conceded with a nod of his head, “Let’s go tell him.”

-

“Virgil, Virge honey, wake up,” Roman urged from the side of the bed.

The sleeping lump just turned slightly and groaned. Roman and Patton shared a soft smile at the sight.

“Virgil, you need to wake up,” Roman continued to urge, raising his voice until he was talking at a normal volume instead of a whisper.

Virgil still did not budge.

Roman sighed but reached out to gently shake the sleeping boy.

Virgil groaned but opened his eyes, immediately scrambling back at the figure standing over him. Roman, used to the response, slowly raised his arms and backed away. Patton did the same.

“Just us V,” Patton soothed, “Roman and Patton.”

Virgil took a deep breath to center himself before yawning widely.

“Iz mornin’ a’re’y?” he inquired, voice thick with sleep.

Roman and Patton dropped their hands and creeped closer.

“No,” Patton responded, “It’s still night. But we need to talk to you.”

The statement easily woke Virgil up.

The man scrambled to sit up and stared at them with bright eyes, elbows clenched tightly in his hands.

“What?” he stammered, “What’s wrong?”

“Virge, you can loosen up your grip on your arms?” Roman requested, “I don’t want you to hurt yourself.”

Virgil looked down at said clenched appendage and quickly let go. His hands shifted in search of familiar fur. He didn’t find it. It was the middle of the night, Trixie would be sleeping.

“Want to hold our hands?” Patton offered, in place of Trixie.

Virgil nodded and took one of each of their hands.

“What’s going on?” he asked. His body was still a bit tense, but his breathing was deep and even.

Patton and Roman shared a glance.

“So Virge, something happened and Logan left,” Roman started. Virgil’s eyes immediately gleamed and he tensed more. “We don’t know where he went or when he’ll be back because he didn’t tell us. But he packed a bag. He’s not responding to our calls and texts, so we don’t know where he is,” Roman concluded.

“What? What do you mean? He just left? What happened? What’s- what-” Virgil trailed off, breathing increasing in speed.

“Breathe,” Patton quietly encouraged from his side, using his free hand to rub a soothing pattern on the other’s back.

“I told Logan that I loved him, and the he asked why. I explained and then he left. I’m not sure why. We think he probably got overwhelmed.”

“Is he okay?”

Patton and Roman shared a second glance.

“We don’t know,” Patton admitted, “Probably. But he isn’t answering us. But Logan sometimes does that when he needs space. So he’s probably fine.”

“I need to call him,” Virgil announced, floundering for his phone. He swiped it open quickly and called Logan’s number.

It rang once before stopping.

Virgil switched to texting, his fingers moving frantically across the keyboard. When he pressed a final button he clenched the phone fiercely. Almost immediately his screen lit up with Logan’s name.

“Logan?” Virgil asked immediately as he tapped the speaker button on his phone for all of them to hear.

No reply came.

“Lo, you there?” Virgil asked.

A muffled tap came through the phone.

“Okay. Hey Logan, can you tap once for yes, two for no, and three for anything else.”

A muffled tap came.

“Okay okay awesome,” Virgil encouraged, “are you safe?”

Another tap.

“Okay uh are you overwhelmed? Is that why you’re not talking?”

Tap. Tap. Tap.

“Three?” Virgil muttered.

“You asked two questions Virge, he can't answer both at once,” Patton reminded him.

“Right. Logan, did you get overwhelmed and go nonverbal?”

A tap.

“But you're safe?”

Tap.

“And you're going to stay safe?”

Tap.

“Are you going to come back?”

Tap. Tap. Tap.

“What does that mean?”’ Virgil pondered. He looked towards his boyfriend for guidance.

“Lo, are you coming home in the next twenty-four hours?” Patton asked.

Tap Tap Tap.

“But you are planning on coming back?”

Tap.

“Do you know when you're going to come back?”

Tap. Tap.

The connection then dropped, probably from Logan hanging up.

The three shared glances.

“So he’s okay, just overwhelmed, that’s good, right?” Patton offered to the silent room.

“I guess,” Virgil muttered. His hand reached to grab and scratch at his elbow.

Roman gently took Virgil’s hand to distract him from the behavior.

“He loves us. We love him. It's going to be okay,” Roman said, smile sweet.

“I know that,” Virgil huffed, “I’m not worried about him leaving us. It’s just. I’m just scared that he could get hurt- or someone could- I know it’s irrational. It’s just bringing back stuff. I’m worried about his safety, not his love for us.”

“Me too,” Roman admitted, “But he promised he’s safe, so I’m going to hold him to that. Right now I think we should all try to get some sleep.”

Patton and Virgil exchanged a glance.

“Okay, so you two are obviously not gonna do that,” Roman said as he saw the shared glance.

They both smiled sheepishly.

“That’s okay,” Roman affirmed, “We can just watch movies or something together until we fall asleep.”

The two immediately started to protest.

“No, Roman-”

“We’ll be fine-”

“You need rest too-”

“You should go to bed-”

“Don’t worry about us.”

Roman just silenced them with a look.

In unison the three of them got up and relocated to the living room, shoving in a movie and settling into the couch. Their boyfriend may be MIA, but at least they could cuddle one another on the couch.

* * *

Patton woke up to the smell of waffles. He relished the sweet scent as he slowly came to awareness. Two of his boyfriends were lying with him on the couch, a blanket thrown over all of them. Virgil’s eyes fluttered and Roman said something softly in his sleep. And if the two were here, but he could still smell breakfast, that meant Logan must be back.

That thought cause him to sit up in excitement.

Which was a bad choice as pain flared through his spines and down his legs. Sleeping scrunched up on the couch had definitely not been one his smarter choices.

Just then, Virgil blinked his eyes open. The dark orbs stared at him.

“Morning,” Patton greeted, wincing slightly as he shifted in an attempted to get more comfortable. No luck.

Virgil lazily tracked his movements before refocusing his gaze on Patton’s face.

“You okay?” he asked.

“Yeah,” he replied, “just achy this morning. Shouldn’t have slept on the couch.”

Virgil’s brow furrowed slightly.

A light clatter came from the kitchen. Virgil jerked his head in the direction, stiffening slightly before breaking into a wide smile. So he had figured out that Logan was back too.

Roman shifted on Patton’s other side, yawning widely as he woke. Almost immediately, his eyes shot open and he also sat upright.

“Shit,” he swore, “What time is it?”

Patton looked around for a clock.

“Dunno,” he commented.

Roman stood and sighed.

“Well, whatever time it is, I missed Fajr, so…” he trailed off as more noises and smells came from the kitchen. He turned back to his boyfriends.

“Wait, is Logan back?” Roman asked.

“We just woke up as well,” Patton replied. His muscles in his leg tensed and he winced a bit at the tight pain.

“Yes, I’m back,” a familiar voice called. “Don’t come in until I say you can. It will still be a little bit.”

The three exchanged glances but didn’t attempt any form of argument.

“Okay, well in the meantime, I'm gonna pray.” Roman stood and walked away.

Virgil and Patton were left alone on the couch.

Patton shifted his position again in a futile attempt to escape the pain. His body, especially his legs and spine, ached harshly.

Virgil gave him a glance at his movement.

“Want to me grab your meds?” his boyfriend offered.

Patton gave back weak smile and nodded gratefully. Virgil stood up and walked towards their bedroom, returning a minute later with the familiar orange container, a granola bar, and a half filled water bottle.

Virgil joined him on the couch, passing over the granola bar.

Patton made a face but ate it. He wasn't a huge fan of these particular granola bars, but he knew he had to have something in his stomach to be able to take his pain meds.

When he finished he opened the orange container, shook a pill out, and popped it in his mouth. He chased the capsule down with a quick sip of water. Ick.

Virgil gave him a sympathetic smile as he shuddered at the taste.

“You would think they would learn how to make pills not taste as gross,” Virgil remarked in sympathy.

At that moment, a door creaked open. Both Patton and Virgil followed the noise with their heads. The door opened wider to reveal Trixie. Both Virgil and Trixie perked up at the sight of one another.

Trixie came bounding forward and sat in front of the couch. Her butt and tail wriggled impatiently and Virgil called her up on the couch to join them with a laugh.

The dog bounded up and immediately covered the two in kisses. Patton squealed and they both jerked away with a laugh. Trixie wagged her tail harder, creating a large thumping noise against the couch.

The door opened again, this time revealing Roman. When he saw the two of them cuddling the dog, he raced toward to join them. Trixie bestowed him with kisses as well.

They sat there for a few minutes, there faces slowly being covered in slobber.

“You can come in now,” Logan’s voice called from the kitchen. Trixie was the first to act, leaping off the couch to race into the kitchen, kicking Roman in the stomach.

“Oof,” Roman groaned, as the other two laughed at the dogs antics before quickly falling silent as they stared in the direction of the kitchen.

It was time.

As a group the three stood up in marched forward. When they entered the kitchen they were greeted by a mini feast. Logan had set the table nicely and a platter of homemade waffles was set on the table. The rest of the table was filled with different toppings for the waffles, ranging from fruit, to syrup, to whip cream.

Logan sat down and the other three quickly followed.

“Lo what’s-”

“I need to talk,” Logan announced.

The three just turned their patient gazes to the fourth member of their relationship.

Logan said nothing for a moment, instead just playing with his watch, eyes glued to the grains in the table.

“I love you,” he eventually said, “All of you, a lot. And I know we can’t actually do it, but I mean the sentiment seems nice. And I want all of you with me, forever, so…”

Logan got down on one knee.

“Roman Hussain-Barlo, Patton Agnes Wilson, Virgil Jude Torres, will you marry me?”

* * *

Virgil could tell if he was furious or ecstatic.

“What?” he responded, glaring at his boyfriend.

“Will you marry me?” Logan asked.

And okay- what the fuck?

Did Logan not realize the amount of fear they had been in? It was the middle of the night. Anything could have happened from him. He could of been hurt or attacked. And Virgil wouldn’t have even known. Someone could of grabbed Logan and taken him and he would never see him again and oh god no and then- oh. Oh.

Shit. He needed to stop projecting.

“Is that a no to my question then?” Logan asked in response to the lack of replies.

Virgil let out a hysterical laugh.

“Logan Kasem Zurko, it would be my honor to be your unlawfully wedded husband,” Virgil declared.

Logan ducked his head, but it didn’t stop the wide grin spreading across his face.

“You scared me half to death,” Virgil admitted, “And we need to talk about some safer coping skills. But Logan, I love you, and tonight has helped me realize that. But I swear, if you ever run away again I will kick your ass.” Virgil wiped the stray tears that had fallen don his face.

“I love you all so much,” Patton pitched in, “and I would love to marry all of you as well.”

Logan turned to the final person in the room.

“Logan, I think you already know my answer.” Roman choked up slightly, “Bismillah, a million times yes.”

At this point, tears were apparent in each of their eyes.

Virgil was the first to do something about. He stood up and reached out for each of them, pulling them into a group hug. The four lovers wrapped themselves in one another's arms and cried tears of joy.

This.

This right here.

This was the life that Virgil had been hoping for.

**Author's Note:**

> TW: Running Away (brief) (Logan gets overwhelmed and runs away to get space for a little bit), Mentions of Trauma (Virgil begins to have a trauma response), Spiraling Thoughts (Virgil worries about Logan), Projecting (Virgil projects past trauma in unhealthy ways but catches himself), Mentions of Kidnapping (Virgil was kidnapped in the past)
> 
> On Logan: Logan's experience with autism come from my own and friends. If you have a problem let me know, but be polite, and know what you're talking about. 
> 
> Well, here it is. That's really all I have to say. Please let me know what you thought, and remember to always be polite!  
> ~childoflightning
> 
> IMPORTANT: I now have a tumblr. Come and chat about the series and be notified about updates!  
> TUMBLR: https://thechildoflightning.tumblr.com/  
> UPDATES: https://thechildoflightning.tumblr.com/tagged/childoflightningao3update


End file.
